MacRumors

Tw.apple.pro posts a few images of an Apple-branded touch screen that only measures 3x3 centimeters. The site has been a source of early parts for Apple products in the past, including white iPhone 4 parts and MacBook Pro enclosures. Based on the machine translation they aren't quite sure what the part is for. Though, they speculate about an iPod Touch nano, iPod Touch shuffle and even a touch-screen wrist-watch.

We're not sure what to make of it. The screen isn't the right proportion to be used in the current iPod nano, though Apple could change the design. We're also taking their word on it that it's even a touch screen.

Newteevee provides some details into Apple's plans to revamp their Apple TV product as they transition from selling downloads to offering streaming online content. According to the report, Apple is about to get more serious about the Apple TV and is pushing to offer $0.99 rentals for TV shows rather than the current $1.99/$2.99 (HD) downloadable purchases.

The TV rental program would work in much the same way that movie rentals now work through iTunes; once an episode is purchased, the consumer will have 30 days to start watching the video. And once started, the TV rental will be available for 24 hours before it expires.

With the new system, Apple would stream the rentals to customers much like Netflix and Hulu. This rumor is just one in a series in which Apple is actively negotiating with content providers to provide more attractive content for customers. Previous negotiations had Apple trying to lower the purchase price of TV episodes down to $1, though it seems that plan never materialized.

Any sort of streaming service might be interesting for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch owners who might also be able to benefit from the service. Rather than syncing an entire show with your computer, customers could simply stream the video directly from iTunes. In fact, some recent rumors even describe the next Apple TV as just another iOS device.

iFixyouri has performed a drop test on the iPhone 4 with one of Apple's bumper cases to see if there is much protection offered by the accessory.

We've have known for a little while now that iPhone 4 bumpers do not offer all of the protection needed because customers have called in an told us. Although it does not take a video by iFixyouri to inform you that dropping your new iPhone 4 on concrete is a bad idea, hopefully this video squashed any doubts as to the bumpers effectiveness.

The iPhone 4 was dropped from a natural standing height onto concrete. The iPhone 4 with bumper lasted only 3 drops before the front glass cracked. This was the same number of drops that it took to break an unprotected iPhone 4. It does appear the iPhone 4 hit the concrete face down for the last fall, so how it falls likely affects the chances of the glass breaking.

Unfortunately, there have been no comparison tests with more traditional cases, so we're not yet sure how much better protection a full case actually offers.

Looking to upstage Apple's FaceTime video calling feature, fring has announced that its App Store application has received an update enabling two-way video calling on the new iPhone 4 via both Wi-Fi and 3G.

With the new fring for iPhone you get lots of fring goodies including 2 way video-calling where you want and with whom you want!

- Face-to-face video calls with friends on their Droids, Nokia (Symbian S60) and other iPhones
- Video calls over 3G or Wi-Fi (Performance over 3G is subject to mobile operators' 3G coverage & quality)

fring added video calling support to its iPhone application last December, but the lack of a front-facing camera on the device limited video calls to one-way only.

fring has also published a brief YouTube video showing off the video calling feature, and while the video appears to demonstrate some blockiness and stuttering, the ability to call over 3G networks could make the performance acceptable for some users.

Today's update to fring also adds support for multitasking on iOS 4, a cross-community social stream integrating tweets, Facebook updates, chats, and calls, and address book improvements.

After we heard today's rumors claiming that the next iPod touch might be getting the iPhone 4's 5-megapixel camera, we asked iFixit's Kyle Wiens if that would even be possible given the sizes of the parts involved. iFixit offers repair guides (iPhone 4 guide) and parts for Apple products and has made a name for itself by posting detailed product teardowns.

This issue of camera size is one we've seen before. The iPod nano, for example, contains a video-only camera but is unable to take still photos. Steve Jobs explained the reason to the The New York Times:

I also asked him why the Nano can record video, but can't snap still photos. That reason, he said, is technical: the sensors you need to record video are extremely thin these days -- thin enough to fit into the wafer-thin Nano. But the ones with enough resolution for stills, especially with autofocus (like the sensor in the iPhone), are much too thick to cram into a player thats only 0.2 inches thick.

Wiens reports on the relative sizes of the hardware in question:

- iPhone 4 5MP (back) camera: 6.5mm
- iPhone 4 FaceTime (front) camera: 2.5mm
- iPod touch width (at edges): 6mm

The iPod touch dimensions don't include the casing and display, so actual usable space is smaller than the 6mm shown. This shows that the iPhone 4's back camera can not fit in the iPod touch, though the front FaceTime camera could. It's possible that Apple might "square off" the iPod touch design like the iPhone 4, but even so, Wiens still isn't sure that it would be possible in the current dimensions. That would mean Apple would have to make the iPod touch thicker as well as "squaring off" the design to accommodate the 5MP camera.

Given the early iPod touch parts and Apple's push for FaceTime, it seems likely that the next iPod touch will have a front-facing FaceTime camera, but the same high quality 5MP iPhone 4 camera seems less likely.

Actualidad iPhone reports [Google translation] that Spanish mobile carrier Movistar has issued a series of tweets indicating that the iPhone 4 is set to launch there on Wednesday, July 28th.

While we can't say for certain that the announcement is anything more than speculation, as the Movistar representative does say that there is "no guarantee", the tweets do suggest that the device should be available by that date barring any unforeseen news or issues receiving stock. Furthermore, the representative notes with tongue in cheek that not even Steve Jobs knows the pricing information yet.

Apple launched the iPhone 4 in the United States, UK, France, Germany, and Japan on June 24th and has announced that it is planning to launch in an additional 18 countries "by the end of July": Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

App Store developer Jason Ting has released data on iAd revenue from the first day of sales for a "utility app" that was released just yesterday, clocking in nearly $1,400 in revenue on an astounding "eCPM" of nearly $150. The data appears to be from Ting's LED Light for iPhone 4 Free, which was part of a series of apps approved by Apple yesterday that can control the iPhone 4's LED camera flash on the rear of the device for use as a flashlight. Ting's application is available in both a paid version and the iAd-supported version for which he has provided data.

CPM, which stands for "cost per mille" ("mille" = "thousand" in Latin), is a commonly-used metric in advertising used to benchmark the relative cost of ads per thousand "impressions", or times the ad is loaded. While some web-based advertising is sold simply on a CPM basis, the term "Effective CPM" (eCPM) is a modified metric which takes into account the usage of tiered ad rates that include certain rates for simply showing the ad and then additional payments for users engaging the ads in some way, from simply clicking on ads to learn more to filling out personal requests for more information to actually making purchases. In essence, eCPM is simply the total revenue obtained from an advertising campaign through its various payment schemes per 1000 ad impressions.

While eCPM is highly variable based on platforms, site demographics, ad implementations and services used, an eCPM of $150 is in the neighborhood of an order of magnitude or even much more above typical solid ad performance. The strong performance comes from a premium initial base CPM of $10 for the iAd platform, with an additional $2 charged per click-through by users and 60% of the total revenue is passed along to developers. Consequently, it appears that an extremely high click-through rate of nearly 12% is the primary driver of the high eCPM for this developer's iAd implementation.

A fill rate of only about 35% also suggests that there is plenty of room for expansion of the iAd platform. It is unclear, however, exactly what the reason is for the relatively low fill rate, and it is possible that there simply aren't enough advertisers in the program at the moment to deliver the volume of ads being requested based on application usage.

Despite the strong initial performance, it is somewhat doubtful that developers will be able to sustain Ting's level of performance, as he is benefitting not only from the high-profile launch of the initial wave of iPhone 4 flashlight applications but also from the novelty of the iAd program. While the interactive experience of the iAd platform is certainly likely to result in higher click-through activity from users over the long-term, the novelty of the program, which just launched last week, is likely driving more users than might otherwise be expected to test out the ads.

Just after a fresh set of rumors suggesting that the next-generation iPod touch may be set to gain a front-facing camera in addition to a number of other features inherited from the iPhone 4, 9 to 5 Mac points to several merchants on Chinese trade site Alibaba.com offering claimed parts for the device showing a hole in the front plate that appears to be for a front-facing camera.

The first listing claims to be for an LCD and digitizer for the next-generation iPod touch and clearly shows a hole in the center of the front panel which would most likely be to accommodate a camera.

The second listing is for the digitizer portion only, with no LCD included, and also shows the same camera hole.

Both parts show the camera hole centered near the top of the device's front, a design feature that would seem to make for a more natural FaceTime experience than the off-center camera found in the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4's earpiece, however, prevents its camera module from being centered. With the iPod touch lacking an earpiece for traditional calling, Apple is free to center the front-facing camera.

Another interesting aspect related to our earlier post on iPod touch rumors concerns a possible rear-facing camera. Prototypes of the current-generation iPod touch contained a rear-facing camera centered near the top edge of the device, unlike the iPhone that has consistently seen its rear-facing camera placed in the corner of the device. Should Apple be planning to include both front- and rear-facing cameras on the next-generation iPod touch, a centered front-facing camera would seem to preclude a centered rear-facing camera given the physical design constraints faced by Apple in trying to squeeze in a high-resolution rear-facing camera, much less back-to-back with a front-facing one.

Electricpig.co.uk reports that prominent UK retailer John Lewis has shared what it believes to be details of a forthcoming refresh to Apple's iPod touch line scheduled for a September release. The information, shared at the company's "Xmas in July" event in London, is reportedly based "noises we're hearing from suppliers", and while we consider it fairly speculative in nature, the report is gaining a fair amount of traction today.

John Lewis claims that the next-generation iPod touch will gain a 5-megapixel camera with flash, as well as the same HD video recording capabilities found in the iPhone 4. And while the company's information does not specifically address whether the next iPod touch will have a front-facing camera, it does claim that Apple's FaceTime video calling feature will be included, making such a camera a necessity. Finally, the retailer claims that the iPod touch will gain a gyroscope, as found in the iPhone 4, for more sensitive controls for gaming, augmented reality, and other types of applications.

The report is silent on whether the next-generation iPod touch will adopt the high-resolution "Retina" display found in the iPhone 4, although it seems likely Apple will want to bring the key screen improvement to its iPod line. Also unaddressed is what the brains behind the new device will be, but Apple will almost certainly shift to the in-house Apple A4 system-on-a-chip used in the iPad and iPhone 4.

It is interesting to note that the current iPod touch had been widely expected to carry a rear-facing camera similar to that found in the iPhone 3GS, but the feature, which was seen in multiple prototypes of the device, was removed before the design was finalized. While the reason for the removal of the camera from the final iPod touch design has never been officially confirmed, it appears that Apple may have discovered that the device's thinner profile compared to that of the iPhone did not allow enough room for the higher-quality rear-facing camera found in the iPhone 3GS and felt that an iPod nano-style low-resolution camera taking video only was not an acceptably performing feature in such a device.

It is unclear whether the next-generation iPod touch will face a similar issue incorporating the camera used in the iPhone 4, as the camera module does appear to be fairly thick. Apple could obviously address the issue by increasing the overall thickness of the device, which would also allow room for other features such as an increased battery size, but it is unknown whether the company would be willing to compromise the iPod touch's sleek profile. Alternatively, adopting a more "squared off" design such as that used for the iPhone 4 could provide Apple with the needed additional space at the top of the device when compared to the existing tapered design.

In weighing the next-generation iPod touch's camera chances with design challenges in mind, it in fact appears that a front-facing camera may be even more likely than a rear-facing camera. The lower-resolution front-facing camera found on the iPhone 4 would certainly be thin enough to fit into the iPod touch's existing profile and would deliver FaceTime video calling capabilities, an important feature for the Wi-Fi only device.

Supporting the idea of a FaceTime-enabled iPod touch is a slide presented by Steve Jobs at Apple's introduction of the iPhone 4 indicating that the company expects to ship tens of millions of "FaceTime devices" this year. As noted by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, Apple's decision to use the term "FaceTime devices" rather than simply addressing the iPhone 4 suggests that the company has more in store for the feature, with the iPod touch being an obvious possibility.

YouTube has announced that it has revamped its mobile YouTube site to support a complete YouTube browsing experience on modern mobile phones, including the iPhone. Of the changes to http://m.youtube.com, YouTube notes:

- It's really fast.
- The user interface incorporates larger, more touch-friendly elements, making it easier to access videos on the go.
- It incorporates the features and functionality youve come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options to create playlists, the ability to designate favorite, like or unlike videos directly from your device.
- As we make improvements to Youtube.com, youll see them quickly follow on our mobile site, unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently.

In many ways the new mobile site now makes the native iPhone YouTube app obsolete. Like the native app, the mobile YouTube serves iPhone-friendly h.264 video that can be played right in mobile Safari. Every since 2007, YouTube has been encoding their videos in both Flash format as well as h.264 (for AppleTV and iPhone).

As noted by ifoAppleStore earlier today, Apple has begun removing the wraps from the cylindrical glass tower at its new retail store in the Pudong district of Shanghai. Like the company's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the Pudong store is located below ground level and utilizes the glass tower as an iconic entryway with a glass stairway descending to the store below.

Flickr user Lesh51 has posted several photos from the site, including an interesting aerial view showing the glass tower rising out of a central plaza at the International Finance Center.

The Pudong store is set to open this Saturday at 10:00 AM.

M.I.C. gadget posts a series of photos showing Apple's forthcoming white iPhone 4, as well as the device's box, which appears identical to that of the black iPhone 4 with the exception of the color of the iPhone on the front of the box.

The photos come courtesy of a Japanese source who was able to obtain one through unknown means.

The white iPhone 4 was has been unavailable since Apple began taking pre-orders for the device in its launch markets in mid-June. The company announced just prior to the initial iPhone 4 launch late last month that availability of the white models will be delayed until the second half of this month due to manufacturing challenges.

Immediately after the iPhone 4 was released, Michael D'Ulisse of MoreBluSky came up with the idea to make an app that used the iPhone 4's camera flash as a Flashlight. Apparently, he wasn't alone as a number of other Flashlight apps were apparently also submitted to the App Store. Despite submitting his app the day following the iPhone 4's release, however, the app hadn't been quickly approved by Apple.

D'Ulisse contacted Apple about the delay and was told that such apps would be rejected as "inappropriate use of hardware". The developer then reached out to Apple's Phil Schiller who promised to meet with the App Review department to review their policy. D'Ulisse's arguments must have been convincing as after some consideration, Apple has approved MoreBluSky's Flashlight - For iPhone 4 app as well as the many other iPhone 4 flashlight apps in their approval queue. Each app, however, must include a disclaimer that continued use of the iPhone's LED may dramatically decrease battery life.

Yesterday, we reported that a number of iPhone 4 users around the United States have been experiencing severely crippled upload speeds on AT&T's 3G network since the holiday weekend.

At the time it was unclear whether the issue, which limited upload speeds in many markets to 100 kbps, was an intentional cap placed by AT&T or if there was some sort of network issue or maintenance operation causing the slowdown. AT&T has finally responded with an official statement acknowledging that the slowdown is due to a software defect in Alcatel-Lucent equipment affecting users in certain markets under certain conditions.

AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent jointly identified a software defect - triggered under certain conditions - that impacted uplink performance for Laptop Connect and smartphone customers using 3G HSUPA-capable wireless devices in markets with Alcatel-Lucent equipment. This impacts less than two percent of our wireless customer base. While Alcatel-Lucent develops the appropriate software fix, we are providing normal 3G uplink speeds and consistent performance for affected customers with HSUPA-capable devices.

There is no word on a timeframe for deployment of the software fix for Alcatel-Lucent's equipment.

Mozilla yesterday announced the release of Firefox 4 Beta 1 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Not all of the changes scheduled for Firefox 4 are available on Mac and Linux yet, however, as major visual changes including the move of tabs to the top of the window (a feature tested and discarded by Apple in a Safari 4 public beta last year) and implementation of the Firefox button for quick access to commonly-used actions are Windows-only for the time being.

There is a lot more to this beta than a facelift on Windows, including:

- New Add-Ons Manager: gives you more space to manage your Add-Ons, Themes and Plugins. Customizing your browser has never been easier!
- HD Video: Watch hardware-accelerated, super-smooth, HD-quality HTML5 video on YouTube using the new WebM format.
- Privacy improvements: Mozilla always puts privacy first, and this latest beta fixes flaws in some Web standards that could expose your browser history.
- Crash Protection: Experience uninterrupted browsing (now available on all platforms) - when a plugin crashes or freezes, you can resume browsing by simply refreshing the page.
- Performance: We know that performance is important. In this version, we focused on improving responsiveness at start-up and during page loads. This is just the beginning for performance improvements in Firefox 4.

Firefox 4 also includes a number of under-the-hood enhancements to assist web developers with their projects. Finally, the new beta integrates a new Feedback Add-On that allows users to quickly send input back to Mozilla and to anonymously participate in Mozilla studies of web usage if they so choose.